[Albion] Valentín Barco **Signed 20/01/24**

[peterward]

Interesting. I can really see him in a Liverpool or City team. And yes there are a few South Americans here, but I'm pretty sure they are all looking for that big club move- that's why they came to us in the first place, because we help facilitate it.

I wonder if it is actually ever possible for the Albion to become a 'destination club' rather than a steeping stone. I can't see it personally, not without a big expansion to the Amex.

Interesting too!

see his 2 wonder goals and think yeah, but he made some defensive mistakes in recent weeks too.

The other reason I thought that wasn't just ability, I had read before (and who knows if really true) that he's quite fragile mentally, has had confidence issues?

Places like City/Liverpool the pressure/expectation is much bigger as is scrutiny. Being in a place now where he's loved, starting, dare I say comfortable in his surroundings may offer him an all round stability (playing + mental) thats more appealing to that specific player?

That said, if City/Liverpool, however really approached and put 100k+ pw on the table, the money and prestige may be too tempting for Pervis though I'd be surprised if they went for him.

Is our stadium such a limiting factor? If we could even get in another 20k seats at 600£ per STH thats just £12m pa more.

Would even 15m, a decent amount no doubt, still be deciding factor after all TV money/sponsorship/sales bring in hundreds of millions?

In basic maths an extra 15m from greatly increased attendences, would allow us to pay an extra 20k pw to 15 players, but we still wouldn't be paying Palace level salaries (in a smaller ground). I believed this as a club choice rather than a financial constraint?

 

[Brian Fantana]

I believe Barco is the best rated left back wonderkid on FM24.

I'm not sure if he still is now, but when this year's game was first released he was the most bought player of anyone in the world.

 

[Braggfan]

Estupinian is good, But I don't see him in a Liverpool or City team.

Maybe he'll fancy a new challenge, but i personally reckon he'll stay here a while, he's loved, he's playing, there's a few SA boys here, and we're at a good level for him.

I think he's probably the best left back / left wing back in the premier league. We know that our players are admired both domestically and abroad. I just think its a matter of time before someone comes sniffing around for him. Probably the only thing that's prevented it so far is that he's under a long contract and everyone knows that means we'll be demanding at least the same as what we got for Cucurella. But I think it will happen. Maybe not this window, but I could see the summer. And who knows what he thinks.
I worry because he'll be 26 at the end of the season. If he has ambitions to play Champions League for a bigger club then he's entering an age bracket where its probably now or never.

 

[BBassic]

I believe Barco is the best rated left back wonderkid on FM24.

Always goes to Spurs in my saves.

I don't play as Brighton so never get the chance to pick him up.

 

[JBizzle]

The whole debate about we are targeting Barco, because 'he covers x/y positions', or 'succession planning', etc, ignores the simple truth of our entire recruitment policy:

If a player is available, at a good price, with huge potential for added value (in football AND monetary terms), then we'll try to buy them. If they are in a position where we are thin, that is obviously a factor - but if the deal is attractive enough, we'd buy them anyway.

It's why we bought Matt Clarke when we didn't need him, and why we currently have 34 goalkeepers on the books.

Have we released some goalkeepers recently?

 

[Tom Bombadil]

100%. Important to jump to a conclusion after 20 mins of watching anyone new.

I'm never sure that we've got a decent player until Dwayne writes them off.

 

[Commander]

Or a new ground, better start looking now.

I drove past Waterhall the other day and couldn't help thinking...

 

[WhingForPresident]

Always goes to Spurs in my saves.

I don't play as Brighton so never get the chance to pick him up.

I'm in 2027 on my Albion save and he's been Real Madrid's first choice LB for three seasons now. Had the chance to sign him in the last window for £90m but needed reinforcements up top so spanked it all on Sesko instead.

May need to start a new Albion save if we get him in. Hinsh desperately needs a big CA and PA upgrade which I'm sure he'll get in Jan, along with Adingra.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I think he's probably the best left back / left wing back in the premier league. We know that our players are admired both domestically and abroad. I just think its a matter of time before someone comes sniffing around for him. Probably the only thing that's prevented it so far is that he's under a long contract and everyone knows that means we'll be demanding at least the same as what we got for Cucurella. But I think it will happen. Maybe not this window, but I could see the summer. And who knows what he thinks.
I worry because he'll be 26 at the end of the season. If he has ambitions to play Champions League for a bigger club then he's entering an age bracket where its probably now or never.

I personally think things have changed.

Clubs now fear FFP in a way they didn't 6 months ago and many of the likely clubs are skating on some very thin ice.

Sure there will be the odd big transfer and there are some clubs, Spurs, maybe Man U have some decent wiggle room.

But I have a prediction. Total spending by PL clubs in this window and the next will be less than half what it was in the corresponding windows last year.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I drove past Waterhall the other day and couldn't help thinking...

Thinking what? Bloody hell, imagine trying to get 45,000 people to and from there?

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

The whole debate about we are targeting Barco, because 'he covers x/y positions', or 'succession planning', etc, ignores the simple truth of our entire recruitment policy:

If a player is available, at a good price, with huge potential for added value (in football AND monetary terms), then we'll try to buy them. If they are in a position where we are thin, that is obviously a factor - but if the deal is attractive enough, we'd buy them anyway.

I disagree. Our recruitment strategy depends on profit, which depends on them impressing in the PL which depends on them getting game time, which depends on them being in a position we have some kind of a need for, or may soon.

Clarke was clearly a low fee, hopeful punt who we were going to loan out and see. I don't think he's representative of our usual transfer strategy and certainly not comparable to this situation where we're going to bring a young player in presumably to compete straight away

 

[Commander]

Interesting too!

see his 2 wonder goals and think yeah, but he made some defensive mistakes in recent weeks too.

The other reason I thought that wasn't just ability, I had read before (and who knows if really true) that he's quite fragile mentally, has had confidence issues?

Places like City/Liverpool the pressure/expectation is much bigger as is scrutiny. Being in a place now where he's loved, starting, dare I say comfortable in his surroundings may offer him an all round stability (playing + mental) thats more appealing to that specific player?

That said, if City/Liverpool, however really approached and put 100k+ pw on the table, the money and prestige may be too tempting for Pervis though I'd be surprised if they went for him.

Is our stadium such a limiting factor? If we could even get in another 20k seats at 600£ per STH thats just £12m pa more.

Would even 15m, a decent amount no doubt, still be deciding factor after all TV money/sponsorship/sales bring in hundreds of millions?

In basic maths an extra 15m from greatly increased attendences, would allow us to pay an extra 20k pw to 15 players, but we still wouldn't be paying Palace level salaries (in a smaller ground). I believed this as a club choice rather than a financial constraint?

I don't think it's a money issue with our stadium. I can't imagine City etc need that extra 30,000 seats for gate receipts to help them buy players. It's more the fact that I can't see how you can be seen as a truly big club if your stadium is half the size of the other big clubs in the league. Chelsea's ground size is closest to ours, they have another 8,000 or so but are planning to increase to 60,000. Once that is done, all of the big 6 (7?) clubs will have stadiums with well over 50,000 capacities. That's a huge difference, and I'm sure it makes a difference to players' perceptions of clubs.

Thing is, even if we could somehow magically expand the Amex to 50,000-60,000, I don't think we'd ever have the demand to get close to filling it regularly. We might do for a massive game if we were in the Champions League, I guess. But unless we were a constant in the Champions League for 5-10 seasons and were winning trophies then we just wouldn't have the fan base for it. Even Man City struggle to fill their ground for every game, and they are in a city with over half a million people.

 

[peterward]

I disagree. Our recruitment strategy depends on profit, which depends on them impressing in the PL which depends on them getting game time, which depends on them being in a position we have some kind of a need for, or may soon.

Clarke was clearly a low fee, hopeful punt who we were going to loan out and see. I don't think he's representative of our usual transfer strategy and certainly not comparable to this situation where we're going to bring a young player in presumably to compete straight away

It certainly appears that way for the likes of Ale Mac, Caicedo, Trossard who were bought with first team intentions, but HKFC is also right, Blooms algorithm will still buy undervalued players, even if unlikely to feature for our first team, where a profit potential exists.

Andi Zeqiri, right now Abdallah Sima snd there's many others.

I think Barco is being bought in based on first team squad needs and his potential to meet those needs, there are though loads bought who won't ever be in the shop window of out first team but still are money making.

 

[GT49er]

?? Bizarre that you're interested in latest updates and post to this thread frequently . But then dismiss posters sharing what they've seen as all rumour and nonsense (some of it might be, some of it definitely isn't) given that you don't trust anything until the club announce something. They won't announce anything for days.

I am interested in latest updates and I do post to this thread frequently, so it's bizarre for some random poster to suggest I ignore it.

What a couple of strange posts.

 

[peterward]

I don't think it's a money issue with our stadium. I can't imagine City etc need that extra 30,000 seats for gate receipts to help them buy players. It's more the fact that I can't see how you can be seen as a truly big club if your stadium is half the size of the other big clubs in the league. Chelsea's ground size is closest to ours, they have another 8,000 or so but are planning to increase to 60,000. Once that is done, all of the big 6 (7?) clubs will have stadiums with well over 50,000 capacities. That's a huge difference, and I'm sure it makes a difference to players' perceptions of clubs.

Thing is, even if we could somehow magically expand the Amex to 50,000-60,000, I don't think we'd ever have the demand to get close to filling it regularly. We might do for a massive game if we were in the Champions League, I guess. But unless we were a constant in the Champions League for 5-10 seasons and were winning trophies then we just wouldn't have the fan base for it. Even Man City struggle to fill their ground for every game, and they are in a city with over half a million people.

Excellent points and thanks for expanding, yes you're right based on external perceptions.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Interesting. I can really see him in a Liverpool or City team. And yes there are a few South Americans here, but I'm pretty sure they are all looking for that big club move- that's why they came to us in the first place, because we help facilitate it.

I wonder if it is actually ever possible for the Albion to become a 'destination club' rather than a steeping stone. I can't see it personally, not without a big expansion to the Amex.

I think we are more than just a stepping stone club now.
Whilst not a destination club as such, I don't think any players signing for us, are concerned about getting "stuck" with us anymore.
Playing for De Zerbi at our current level, is enticing in it's own right.

 

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

Valentin's Day is going to be early this year.

Or perhaps we’re waiting until the 14th of February to unveil him

 

[chaileyjem]

I am interested in latest updates and I do post to this thread frequently, so it's bizarre for some random poster to suggest I ignore it.

What a couple of strange posts.

Fair enough. Agreed. There's some useful info tracking progress in this thread. Not just "11 pages of speculation and rumour" ha ha.

 

[hart's shirt]

I don't want us just to be a stepping stone club.

I want us to be the stepping stone club.

The first choice club that every hungry and talented wunderkid from every continent wants to join.

If you can't be the king, be the kingmaker.

Consistent on-field achievements for fans and regular future transfer fees for club will more than compensate.

 

[ConfusedGloryHunter]

I don't want us just to be a stepping stone club.

I want us to be the stepping stone club.

The first choice club that every hungry and talented wunderkid from every continent wants to join.

If you can't be the king, be the kingmaker.

Consistent on-field achievements for fans and regular future transfer fees for club will more than compensate.

We pretty much are that now, no?